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Thursday, February 23, 2017

Blog Tour: Spooning Daisy by Maggie McConnell #interview

Contemporary Romance (RomCom)

Date Published:June 7, 2016

Publisher: Kensington (Lyrical Shine)

It’s a long way from Seattle to Otter Bite, Alaska. But if one woman can survive the trip-and the locals-she just might find what her heart has been searching for. Her mango chutney is exquisite; her blueberry sauce is to die for. But right now, Chef de Cuisine Daisy Moon is a woman without a kitchen-and without a fiancé. Unceremoniously dumped from her place of business and her relationship, Daisy sells her belongings, plus a few of her ex’s, and packs her bags. Maybe smashing all the china in her former restaurant was a bad move. Stripped of her Golden Spoon for “un-chef-like” conduct, she is now blacklisted all over Seattle. Her sole job offer is from Wild Man Lodge…in Otter Bite, Alaska. Too bad Daisy can’t even get out of Dodge without incident. By the time she boards a ship for Alaska, she’s got a trail of new troubles behind her, and suddenly Otter Bite is sounding pretty good. But the vessel turns into her own personal Titanic when a series of close encounters confirms her terrible taste in men-including one very good looking bad luck charm named Max Kendall. She vows to dedicate the rest of her days to chowders and brulée. Yet even Alaska isn’t far enough away to shake the memories of the sexy shipmate who rocked her cabin-and her world. Thank goodness she’s done with surprises-but they may not be done with her…

Interview

What is the hardest part of writing
your books?

Staying on course. I’m a fool for
details; I love to put in trivia tidbits and obscure information readers may
not know, but might find interesting and maybe even a little educational. For
instance, Daisy and Max have a short, fun conversation about the Roman emperor,
Caligula. Probably not something you normally see in romance (unless it’s a
romance set in 37AD Rome).

What songs are most played on your
Ipod?

I don’t have an
iPod. But I do listen to music the old fashioned way. Adele, P!nk, Lady
Antebellum, Kelly Clarkson, Michael Buble’, Celine Dion, Lionel Richie to the
“oldies”: BeeGees, Fleetwood Mac, Richard Harris, Fifth Dimension, James Last,
Melissa Manchester, even some opera with Kiri Te Kanawa. I love music.

Do you have critique partners or beta
readers?

I have a
wonderful critique partner. Many years ago, I was part of a six-seven member
group and slowly whittled that down to a three-member group, and now it’s just
two.

What book are you reading now?

I’m reading
two books, depending on my mood. Mrs.
Chippy’s Last Expedition, which is a true story about the cat who was part
of Ernest Shackleton’s 1914 Antarctica expedition. And Withering Heights which is an Ellie Haskell Mystery and contains
some romance between Ellie and her hunky husband.

How did you start your writing career?

I’d always
had an interest in writing and considered it as a possible major in
college—many years ago!—but took a different route. However, even as I
concentrated on my career in business, I took graduate courses in fiction,
creative writing, and screenwriting—a huge help for dialogue—and eventually, wrote
that first book. I went to RWA conferences and entered the Golden Heart (my
romances have twice been finalists) and just kept going from there.

Tell us about your next release.

I return to Otter Bite, Alaska, for
Embracing Felicity, the second book
in the Otter Bite RomCom series. Felicity is part Alaskan native (Alutiiq) and
she owns a curio shop in this seaside village. She’s also a staunch animal
lover and environmentalist and might even be a mermaid…

Ian MacIntyre is her romantic
interest and someone we briefly met in Spooning
Daisy along with his 10-year-old daughter, Emily.

The first chapter is included at
the back of Spooning Daisy, or readers can find it on my website, along with a
plot teaser.

Golden Heart nominee Maggie McConnell spent her childhood overseas as the daughter of US diplomats. Attending college in Illinois, she earned a BA in Art and an MBA while working at the local humane shelter. At 26, she packed her dog and cat into a Ford truck and drove the Alcan Highway to Alaska, where she spent 23 years exploring The Last Frontier in a single-engine Cessna. A vegan and animal rights advocate, Maggie provides a sanctuary on her Arizona ranch for all creatures great and small, but her immediate family includes dog Molly, cat Sara, horses Quinn and Teena, and an ever-growing dynasty of chipmunks. Every year, like the Gray Whale, Maggie returns to Alaska.